Schools: Parenting Skills

Baroness Walmsley Excerpts

Thursday 17th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

We certainly take those reviews seriously and, as I have said, we have already made some announcements and introduced new policies on the back of the recommendations that we received from Frank Field and Graham Allen. We are in the process of setting up, for example, the Early Intervention Foundation to help provide evidence for some of the policies that we have been discussing. So far as the PSHE review is concerned, I hesitate to raise this again—actually, I have not raised it; the noble Baroness raised it with me but we have been having this exchange for a long time. I know the delay is probably too long, and I know that that is what she feels. As she knows, the sequence is that we want to make our announcements on the national curriculum review, which we expect to do shortly, and then, on the back of that, it seems sensible to bring the PSHE review together with it—so the national curriculum will be first and, after that, the PSHE review.

[Baroness Walmsley]

My Lords, does not the recent spate of cases of horrendous sexual exploitation of young girls, many of whom were in care, demonstrate that the lack of good parenting makes them very vulnerable? In which case, does the Minister accept that high-quality PSHE in schools can go a long way towards making up for that? It must be provided for every child in every school because, as we know from recent press coverage, sexual exploitation happens all over the country, not just in Derby.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree with my noble friend’s remarks about those appalling cases, which are shocking. I also agree that good PSHE in schools can help to raise some of those issues, educate children and warn some of those who are most at risk of the kind of behaviours that they ought to avoid. Part of the PSHE review is looking at the question of best practice, the quality of the teaching—which is vital—and the content of PSHE.